College student dies by suicide Odisha’s Balasore; family suspects online gaming link

Soro: A college student was found hanging today from a ceiling fan in his bedroom in Arada village of Kuchiakoili panchayat under Bahanaga block and Soro police limits of Balasore district. However, the youth’s family suspected that there was an online gaming link behind his untimely death.

The deceased was identified as Ashish Mallick, who was a Plus II student at the local college.

According to a source, Ashish had been playing PUBG (an online game) for nearly the last two months. He was under mental pressure since then and was in a depression-like condition. After returning from his college yesterday, the youth went straight into his room and closed its main door from inside.

Later, Ashish’s mother knocked on the door and asked him to have his food but he did not respond for quite a long time. Worried about this, his mother went near a window of the room and found the youth hanging with the help of a towel tied around his neck.

“The exact reason behind Ashish’s death has not been ascertained yet,” a senior cop said.